The 1st round went pretty well for me in the prediction department. I only missed one series (Detroit) and I'll chalk that up to forgetting how some teams turn it on once the regular season is done. Let's take a look at each prediction:
Boston vs Montreal
My prediction was Boston in 6
The actual result was Boston in 4
Montreal failed to show up quite frankly. My X-Factors for the series were Marc Savard and Carey Price. Well Price clearly didn't do enough in net to get Montreal where they wanted to go. Was he terrible? No, but he also was average at times where he needed to make a handful of big saves. Price let in 15 goals over the four games and had a GAA of 4.11 and SV% of .878. Marc Savard had 2 goals and 3 assists in the 4 games played. Both goals came via the power play.
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Washington vs New York Rangers
My prediction was Washington in 5
The actual result was Washington in 7
Boy did things look bad in this series early on. Down 3-1 and yet the Caps came back. This series may be proof that off-ice antics can play a part of winning. You had A.O. sitting in the bench watching Ranger practice and you had a fan literally causing Rangers head coach John Tortorella to interact back and be forced to sit up in the stands for a game.
In my preview I did mention to you to keep the name Simeon Varlamov in mind. While I didn't expect it to take just one game for Jose Theodore to lose his place, he did. My X-Factors for the series were A.O. and Nik Antropov. Ovechkin didn't quite make a difference till halfway through the series. Ovie finished the series with 3 goals and 4 assists. Antropov finished his playoffs with 2 goals and 1 assist.
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New Jersey vs Carolina
My prediction was Carolina in 6
The actual result was Carolina in 7
What an incredible series this was. Throughout the entire series it was apparent how close these two teams are. Game 7 had an incredible and instant classic finish with Carolina potting a couple of goals in the final minutes to capture a 4-3 victory. The series featured everything you could want from hockey. Also, just watching the stream of tweets from Kevin Smiths twitter (@ThatKevinSmith) added a cherry on top to the entire affair.
My X-Factors for the series were Zach Parise and Cam Ward. Zach led his club in points and goals. He finished the playoffs with 3 goals, 3 assists, a +2 rating, a PP and game winning goal. Cam Ward is probably THE reason Carolina is advancing. His numbers read as 15 goals against with 242 shots against. A 2.11 GAA and .938 SV%. He also added one shutout in there.
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Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia
My prediction was Pittsburgh in 7
The actual results was Pittsburgh in 6
Philly fans wont soon forget this series and the incredible choking job their team performed in game 6. To be up 3-0 and lose in a playoff game is heartbreaking. This series lacked the competition after the first couple games but Philly did make things interesting down the stretch.
My X-Factors for the series were Marc-Andre Fleury and Mike Richards. I also noted that I took Pittsburgh because of their goaltending and Fleury made me look pretty good with that call. MAF finished with a 2.39 GAA and .922 SV%. Richards had an up and down series and we've now found out he played through a torn labrum in his right shoulder, which he will now have surgery on. Richards finished his playoffs with 1 goal, 4 assists, a -4 rating, and his lone goal came via the power play.
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San Jose vs Anaheim
My prediction was Anaheim in 7
The actual result was Anaheim in 6
Oh the amazing ways the Sharks fail to show up. This time, the collapse seems even worse than previous years. If you haven't read Ryan Garner's latest blog about Joe Thornton, then you need to in order to see just how deep this loss has cut into San Jose. Anaheim was hot going in and hot coming out. Jonas Hiller was phenomenal.
My X-Factors were Patrick Marleau and Jonas Hiller. Boy did Hiller come to play. He allowed 10 goals on 230 shots against. His GAA is a very trim 1.64 and his SV% a whopping .957. Marleau had 2 goals and 1 assist through the six games. He also had 8 PIM's but 2 game winning goals. I'd say he did decent but not enough obviously.
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Detroit vs Columbus
My prediction was Columbus in 6
The actual result was Detroit in 4
Well at least the CBJ kool-aid tasted good on the way down my throat. The Jackets simply looked happy to be there and didn't begin to expose the Wings weaknesses till game 4. That was much too late. They never put enough pressure on the D or goaltending, but that said, Chris Osgood played better than I expected.
My X-Factors for the series were Ty Conklin and Rick Nash. Nash finished with a goal and 2 assists. The -4 blemish hurts though. Ty Conklin never participated as the Wings pulled a switch in goal and trusted Osgood.
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Vancouver vs St. Louis
My prediction was Vancouver in 5
The actual result was Vancouver in 4
I stated the Nucks were a buzz saw of a team to face and they were every bit of that. Vancouver knew how to win the close games and took the Blues to task. Even the power of Chris Mason's amazing beard couldn't save the Blues. A great season for St. Louis but they just didn't have enough gas left in the tank come playoff time.
My X-Factors for the series were Alex Burrows and T.J. Oshie. Burrows was the Canucks leading goal scorer with 3 in the series. He added 6 PIM's, a game winning and OT goal. I'd say he was certainly a factor. Oshie was a playoff bust quite frankly. No points, 2 PIM's, and just 6 shots on goal. He averaged 19:01 of TOI and still made no difference.
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Chicago vs Calgary
My prediction was Chicago in 5
The actual result was Chicago in 6
Calgary played better than I expected to be honest. The Hawks got their legs under them and put away the series like I expected. Strong goaltending and some timely scoring are always key. The one thing this series did is make me question the Hawks a little, but they have time to reprove how good they are.
My X-Factors for the series were Martin Havlat and Jarome Iginla. Havlat had 3 goals, 3 assists, a -1 rating, and 4 PIM's. He has a GW and OT goal. Iginla was tied for the goal scoring lead on his team with 3. He also added an assist. His -4 stands out. Also, 2 of the 3 goals he scored were on the power play.
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So to the 2nd round we go, and what a round this will likely be. I don't expect many sweeps this time around. In fact, I'm almost willing to bet all of the series go a minimum of 6 games. Here are the matchups:
EAST
#1 BOSTON VS #6 CAROLINA - Series starts Fri. at 6 pm CST
#2 WASHINGTON VS #4 PITTSBURGH - Series starts Sat. at Noon CST
WEST
#2 DETROIT VS #8 ANAHEIM - Series starts Fri. at 6 pm CST
#3 VANCOUVER vs #4 CHICAGO - Series starts Thurs. at 8 pm CST
I'll do my in-depth breakdown and predictions in a blog tomorrow.
Don't forget TONIGHT is Hockeybuzz Radio night. We'll do a preview of the 2nd round and recap the 1st on there as well. Start time of 6 pm as usual on 560 AM WNSR. Can't listen on the radio? Listen live online at the link I've provided below. Missed that too? Well there is a link to the podcasts as well.
Till tomorrow's full 2nd round preview, take care everyone.
Don’t forget to tune into the Nashville Hockeybuzz Radio show, now on WEDNESDAY nights from 6 to 7 pm on WNSR 560 A.M. with Paul McCann and myself discussing all things Preds! Listen in at the WNSR Website for the best Preds radio show around! The podcasting for the Nashville Hockeybuzz Radio show can be found at the following: Nashville Hockeybuzz Radio Podcast. Enjoy!
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